Law against homelessness struck down in Missouri

A law that could have resulted in unhoused people facing jail time for sleeping on state land was struck down Wednesday by the Missouri Supreme Court.

The law was cast aside by the Show Me State’s highest court in a unanimous ruling because it violated a section of Missouri’s Constitution that bars legislation from having many unrelated subjects, according to The Associated Press. The bill also covered topics such as city governance and COVID-19 regulations.

The 2022 law also barred state funding for the usage of permanent housing for unhoused people. Alternatively, the funding was pointed toward temporary shelters and substance use help, alongside mental health treatment.

Advocates for unhoused people said lawmakers “blamed mental health and substance abuse for causing homelessness, but ignored that the real problem is affordable housing and offered no real mental-health or substance-abuse solutions in the bill” in an amicus brief, according to The Associated Press.

“And in the process, they tried to justify criminalizing homelessness as a method of improving outcomes for homeless individuals,” attorneys for organizations like the National Coalition for the Homeless wrote, per the AP.

A report from the nonprofit United Way of the National Capital Area earlier this year found that San Jose, Calif., has the highest ratio of unhoused young adults in the nation. The report looked at data from the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development on the number of people experiencing being unhoused and vacant housing units. New York City, Los Angeles and Seattle were also in the top five cities with the most unhoused young adults. 

The Hill has reached out to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.

The Associated Press contributed.